San Japan brings out costumes of all shapes, sizes

Fiona Mantle, 6, dressed as Gir, is escorted to the stage during Cosplay.

There were, I would say, a handful of real rock stars at San Japan :3, the local anime gathering held this year at the Marriott Rivercenter, a celebration of Japanese culture. And by rock stars I mean anime fans dressed in elaborate costume who inadvertently congested the halls because their anime peers kept stopping them for photo ops.

Among the rock stars was six-year-old Fiona Mantle and her portrayal of the green, googly-eyed robot Gir. I was hanging out backstage before Cosplay — which is like a fashion show of the costumed and is the convention’s main event — when little Mantle approached me, “Excuse me, sir. Can you get me some water?” My heart just about melted, this little girl was cute incarnate. Rather than punt the small task to the San Japan staff, because clearly she mistook me as staff, this kid just wanted a glass of water, and so just get her the glass of water already.

Later, during Cosplay, participants paraded on stage, one by one in the enormous ballroom. There were more than 800 fellow anime-niacs in attendance Saturday night, the good majority of them teenage girls, most of them in costume themselves. Each participant was given a few seconds to ham to the audience, who obliged by sometimes demonstrating the full capacity of their teenage lungs, depending on the costume’s coolness. An anime novice, I wasn’t sure why some characters received louder and longer deafening screams than others, but if there was a People’s Choice Award (and there might have been, but I left before the awards), it would have gone to Mantle.

The audience’s reaction to Mantle/Gir went beyond screaming and had some giant ahhhs mixed in, the kind of ahhhs reserved for the ridiculously adorable things in life. She stood up there petting a stuffed toy pig, the significance of which flew over my head (as most of what I saw there did), milking the spotlight like a pro. The screaming and ahhhing quickly became hysterical gasps when Mantle approached the platform stage’s edge, not knowing to use the steps off to the side to exit the stage. I mean, she’s 6. She lifted her squarish Gir head slightly just to see where her feet were taking her, but did not completely remove the Gir head as to stay in character. Thankfully, she was intercepted by two San Japan staffers and was lifted from the stage and safely set on the ground.

I wondered, for someone whose playmates are probably more into “Hannah Montana” than “Invader Zim” (the TV show Gir is from), how someone so young gets into anime and the culture. “She has an older brother and sister (who are into anime),” said her mom Carol, to which I thought to myself, “better than children’s beauty pageants.”

This was San Japan’s third year. Anime is short for Japanese animation, but these conventions end up being a celebration of all things Japanese, whether it be movies, manga paperback books, video games, and so forth. Some of the attendees dress as characters from other universes. For example, there was a Jedi. And an awesome take on the Mad Hatter from “Alice in Wonderland.” See below.

The Mad Steamer from “Alice in Steamland.”

According to the Cosplay emcee, this quirky fellow is the Mad Steamer from “Alice in Steamland.” I have it on good authority that this is David Antunes, who dressed as Capt. Jack Sparrow last year. Antunes is known for staying in character. So when I asked him for his real name, he wouldn’t reveal it and mumbled something about tea. His backpack was like a portable tea brewer. A hose connected the backpack to his cane, which, upon request, actually dispensed tea. It tasted like Lipton green tea.

Matt Olden as Master Chief from “Halo.”

Many of the attendees were accompanied by their parents. At least one parent actually played along. Matt Olden, there with his daughter Sheradon, dressed as Master Chief from the video game “Halo.” If you’ve ever played “Halo,” the character is like a futuristic, heavily-armored soldier. Among some of the cool details were the helmet beams that actually turned on, and a battery-powered mock Gatling gun the barrels of which actually spun when triggered. It took Olden three-and-a-half months to complete the outfit. The suit was made using a technique called “vacuum molding,” and the gun is basically PVC pipe, mud flaps and several weed whacker parts. “I never thought I’d be doing this stuff,” Olden said. “It’s fun though.”

His daughter Sheradon, 18, got him into Cosplay. She was there with some of her high school friends, who were portraying characters from the manga series “Tsubasa.” “Everybody who goes to their first con is like ‘What’s going on?’ And then they realize it’s a bunch of nice people who just want to have fun and be creative,” Sheradon said.